Valve has been releasing the most exclusive Dota 2 skins through the battle pass in recent years. These cosmetics would remain unmarketable and retain their value, but with the battle pass system getting discontinued, Dota 2 fans now demand a way to access old Arcanas.
Planetfall for Earthshaker, The One True King for Wraith King, and Compass of the Rising Gale for Windranger are just some of the Arcana skins that still remain unmarketable. This means players who weren’t active during their releases in 2019 and 2020 have no chance of adding them to their collections.
Though Dota 2 players have been at peace with this reality, the scales tipped as Valve decided to introduce a battle pass replacement for The International 2023. However, the developer released the TI12 Compendium with no real content and cosmetics. This created a demand for old cosmetics as there were players who didn’t want to spend hundreds of dollars to unlock Arcanas while their battle pass was active.
Considering most immortals eventually become marketable and get added to the Steam Community Market, the same approach could be applied to Arcanas. Before the battle pass system took over Dota 2, Arcanas would individually release with a price tag of $30.
On the other hand, Arcanas gated behind the battle pass would require players to spend more than $100. This caused a sizable portion of the community to miss out on Arcanas, and now that there isn’t a constant flow of new skins, it could be a decent time to allow Dota 2 fans to catch up with history.
Last year, Valve was giving away the 2022 Dota 2 Battle Pass and an Arcana for free. Shortly after the promotion, Dota 2 hit one million players for the first time in years, showing cosmetics can go a long way in boosting player numbers.
